A winter-only Old Delhi sweet of milk and cream whipped to a cloud-like froth, dusted with sugar, saffron and pistachio and eaten from a leaf bowl.
The story of Daulat ki chaat
Daulat ki chaat is made from milk cream that is set out in the open overnight so the winter dew can work on it, then whipped into froth by hand before dawn. It is sold only in the cold months, by a handful of vendors in Chawri Bazar and around Chandni Chowk, and Delhi's food writers count it among the city's defining winter sweets.
How to make Daulat ki chaat
Serves: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 litre full-fat milk
- 250ml double cream
- 60g icing sugar
- A pinch of saffron soaked in 1 tablespoon warm milk
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
- Silver leaf (vark), optional
Method
- Mix the milk, cream and cream of tartar in a wide bowl and chill overnight in the coldest part of the fridge.
- Whisk with a hand mixer or a large whisk, skimming off the foam into a chilled bowl as it forms.
- Keep whisking and skimming until you have a large bowl of foam, about 30 minutes.
- Sprinkle the icing sugar over the foam and fold very gently.
- Drizzle the saffron milk over part of the foam for streaks of colour.
- Serve at once in small bowls topped with pistachios and silver leaf.
Editor tip. Everything must stay cold; the foam collapses in a warm kitchen within minutes.
The editor picks for Daulat ki chaat in Delhi are still in research. Meanwhile, see the Delhi signature-dishes index or the Delhi food guide.